Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing a traffic crossover on northbound Interstate 79 in Glenfield, Sewickley Hills, and Franklin Park boroughs and Kilbuck, Ohio, and Aleppo townships, Allegheny County, will begin Thursday night, March 17.
A northbound crossover on I-79 will be implemented Thursday night to allow crews to begin bridge deck replacement work. To accommodate this work, the following traffic configuration and restrictions will occur:
- The left lane of northbound I-79 will be crossed over into the southbound lanes between the Neville Island Bridge and the Kilbuck Street on-ramp. This will be the EXPRESS lane. All traffic using this lane will not have access to the Mt. Nebo Road (Exit 68) interchange. Northbound express lane traffic will be crossed back over between the Red Mud Hollow Road overpass and I-279.
- The right lane of northbound I-79 will remain in place. This lane is the LOCAL lane. Access to the Mt. Nebo Road interchange must be made from the local lane. Traffic will be shifted slightly at the Glenfield Road and Red Mud Hollow Road bridges to allow crews to conduct half width deck replacement work.
- Two lanes of traffic will be maintained on southbound I-79. A barrier will separate the southbound lanes and the crossed over northbound lane.
- Emergency pull-off areas will be implemented in various locations through the work zone. Three pull-off areas will be implemented in the southbound lanes, three in the northbound express lane, and one in the northbound local lane.
- The northbound crossover will remain in place continuously through late-November.
To prepare for the crossover, single-lane restrictions and traffic stoppages will occur on northbound I-79 from 7 p.m. Thursday night to 6 a.m. Friday morning. The crossover is anticipated to be in place by 6 a.m. Friday morning.
While the crossover is in place, crews will conduct bridge rehabilitation work on the northbound structures over Glenfield Road and Red Mud Hollow Road in half-widths. This work includes bridge deck replacement, approach slab work, bearing pad and expansion dam replacement, substructure concrete repairs, and downspout upgrades.
Additionally, an overnight southbound I-279 (Parkway North) lane restriction will be implemented Wednesday through Friday nights from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. each night at I-79 northbound bridge over I-279. Crews will install shielding for bridge painting operations.
The work is part of the $26.49 million I-79 improvement project. Improvements include four bridge deck replacements, one bridge preservation, milling and resurfacing, preservation work on seven sign structures, installation of five new ITS signs, guide rail improvements, signage updates, and pavement marking installation. Crossovers will occur on I-79 in 2022 and 2023 for bridge deck replacement work. The majority of the project will conclude in the fall of 2023.
The prime contractor is the Joseph B. Fay Company. Work on this project will be coordinated with other projects in the area.
To help keep motorists informed as work progresses, PennDOT has created an email distribution list for the I-79 Neville Island Bridge rehabilitation including traffic advisories and construction updates. Enroll by sending email addresses to stcowan@pa.gov. Please write “Subscribe – I-79” in the subject line.
Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.
511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.
